Tanzania’s opposition parties, particularly Chadema and ACT Wazalendo, have drawn comparisons between the current situation in the 2024 local government elections and the controversial 2019 elections, during which numerous opposition candidates were disqualified from running.
The parties are now accusing the government of reversing promises made by President Samia Suluhu Hassan of holding a free and fair election, stating that the situation has taken a dramatic turn back to the problems witnessed in 2019.
John Mrema, the Director of Communications for Chadema, expressed his frustration: “Initially, we thought that after the government and President Samia Suluhu Hassan said the elections would be free and fair, we believed that the problems of 2019 were behind us. But suddenly, we see ourselves being taken back to 2019, and it happened so fast.
We started seeing signs of this during the registration process, where even children under the age of 18 were registered”.
Both Chadema and ACT Wazalendo have insisted that they will not withdraw from the local government elections, despite the alleged harassment of their candidates.
Mrema emphasized the determination of the opposition: “What they want is to provoke us, to give us a reason to say we are boycotting. We have already said we will not boycott, even if we remain with just one village, we will continue to participate because winning even one street is a significant victory.
Right now, we don’t even lead a single street in the whole country, out of the nearly 5,000 streets. Out of the 64,000 villages in this country, we don’t lead a single one.
So even if we remain with just one village and win, it means we have a 100% victory”.
Esther Thomas, Deputy Secretary General of ACT Wazalendo Mainland Tanzania, also spoke strongly about their resolve: “We never boycott the farm. If you boycott the farm, the whole crop will be eaten and it will end.
So, we fight while participating, and we participate while fighting.”
ACT Wazalendo has reported that approximately 60% of its candidates have been disqualified from participating in the elections due to what they call a lack of legal foundation and procedural issues.
According to the election schedule, November 8 was the deadline for the nomination of candidates vying for various leadership positions.
However, it has been reported that only opposition candidates have been disqualified for failing to meet the criteria or violating the procedures.
Chadema continues to gather a full list of its candidates disqualified nationwide, with their branch in Kilosa District submitting a letter with proof of 242 candidates being disqualified just in that district alone.
Chadema also claims that candidates from the Buhigwe constituency in Kigoma have not only been disqualified but have also been accused of not being Tanzanian citizens.
For ACT Wazalendo, in the Tunduru North constituency, 69 of their candidates have been disqualified, leaving only 23 approved. In the Kigoma Urban constituency, 63 ACT Wazalendo candidates were disqualified, leaving only five.
In the Tunduru South constituency, a stronghold for ACT Wazalendo, only 13 candidates were accepted, while 34 were disqualified.
“In many areas where they have disqualified our candidates, these are areas where we were expecting to win. They have done a ‘mapping’ to assess who has the potential, and they disqualify them.”said Esther Thomas, the Deputy Secretary General of ACT Wazalendo for Mainland Tanzania.
Some ACT Wazalendo candidates were informed that their disqualification was due to a lack of available positions or improper filling of forms, while Chadema claims that its candidates were disqualified outside of the legal timeframe, with no valid objections raised.
“The situation is very bad, because our candidates were disqualified even at night, which is outside the legal time. People are simply called and given letters, being told they have been disqualified”, Mrema said.
He added that some of their candidates were disqualified because Chadema had not been registered, and others, particularly from Dar es Salaam, were disqualified for declaring self-employment as their source of income.
“The authorities say that self-employment is not a legitimate occupation. Now we ask, if self-employment is not a legitimate occupation, how did the government issue them business identification cards?”
Both parties have submitted appeals, seeking the reinstatement of their disqualified candidates, and are expecting responses by the end of the day today.
They also have three days to file formal complaints, with the final ruling on all appeals expected by November 13.
Two days ago, Minister of State in the President’s Office for Regional Administration and Local Government (TAMISEMI), Mohamed Mchengerwa, reminded political parties, candidates, and other election stakeholders that anyone dissatisfied with the election procedures has the right to appeal.
“Anyone with complaints should focus on following the law and the regulations, as our laws and regulations do not leave any gaps in case of any issues arising from this election” said Mchengerwa.
On Friday, the ruling party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), through its Publicity Secretary, Amos Makalla, called on the TAMISEMI Ministry to ensure fairness in the election process while stressing that CCM does not need special treatment.
“CCM does not need any favoritism; we do not need any help. We are ready; we have already prepared, and we don’t need any special treatment,” said Makalla.
The current situation marks another chapter in Tanzania's ongoing political struggle, with opposition parties voicing their concerns about the fairness and transparency of the electoral process.
As the elections unfold, all eyes will remain on the government's response to these challenges and the eventual resolution of the disqualification issues.
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